World Cup
Asian Confederation Rejects South America’s 64-Team 2030 World Cup Proposal
Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa has strongly opposed South American football body CONMEBOL’s proposal to expand the 2030 FIFA World Cup to 64 teams, warning such a move would lead to “chaos” in the tournament structure.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 35th AFC Congress in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday, Sheikh Salman rejected the expansion plan put forward by CONMEBOL president Alejandro Dominguez earlier this week.
“Personally, I don’t agree,” the Bahraini leader told AFP, insisting the 2030 edition had already settled on 48 teams “so the matter is settled.”
The AFC president warned that continually increasing the tournament size would create significant problems for the competition’s structure and organization.
“If the issue remains open to change, then the door will not only be open to expanding the tournament to 64 teams, but someone might come along and demand raising the number to 132 teams,” said Sheikh Salman. “Where would we end up then? It would become chaos.”
The 2030 World Cup, set to commemorate the centenary of the tournament, is already planned as an unprecedented multi-continental event.
While Spain, Portugal and Morocco will host the majority of matches, three opening games will be staged in South America – in Uruguay, Argentina and Paraguay – recognizing Uruguay as the host of the inaugural 1930 World Cup.
The tournament will feature 48 teams, expanding from the 32-team format used in Qatar 2022. This expansion was already approved for the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
CONMEBOL’s Dominguez formally proposed the further expansion to 64 teams during the South American body’s 80th Congress on Thursday, suggesting it as a one-time increase to celebrate the centennial.
“We are proposing, for the only time, to hold this centennial with 64 teams on three continents, simultaneously, so that all countries have the opportunity to experience a World Cup and so that no one on this planet is left out of this celebration,” Dominguez said.
The South American proposal would likely guarantee all 10 CONMEBOL member nations a place in the tournament. Venezuela is currently the only South American country that has never qualified for a World Cup.
If approved, the expansion would effectively double the tournament size to 128 matches, compared to the 64-game format used from 1998 through 2022.
While Sheikh Salman rejected changes for 2030, he did not dismiss potential format adjustments for future tournaments beyond the 2034 World Cup in Saudi Arabia.
“If we want to discuss subsequent tournaments… that’s a different matter,” he said.
The proposal has received a mixed response from football’s governing bodies. UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin previously dismissed it as a “bad idea,” while FIFA secretary general Mattias Grafstrom said the world governing body would “analyse” the suggestion.
“There are many things that need to be studied, and we will take our time, consult everyone,” Grafstrom said.
Critics argue that expanding to 64 teams would dilute the quality of play and devalue continental qualifying competitions, while supporters suggest it would give more nations the opportunity to participate in football’s premier event.
The idea was initially raised at a FIFA Council meeting in March by Uruguay Football Federation chief Ignacio Alonso, before being formally proposed by CONMEBOL’s Dominguez this week.
FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who participated in Thursday’s CONMEBOL Congress via videoconference, has previously supported tournament expansions during his presidency, which began in 2016, seeking increased revenue for FIFA’s 211 member federations and more opportunities for national teams to qualify.
The final decision on the tournament structure remains with FIFA, which must balance the celebration of the World Cup’s centenary with maintaining the tournament’s competitive integrity and logistical feasibility.
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By Kunle Solaja
The Democratic Republic of Congo has named several players at the centre of Nigeria’s eligibility protest in its squad for the decisive inter-continental play-off for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, underlining the lingering controversy surrounding the Leopards’ qualification campaign.
DR Congo will face the winner of the play-off between Jamaica and New Caledonia in Guadalajara, Mexico, on March 31, 2026, in a match that could send the Central African nation back to the World Cup for the first time in 52 years.
But the squad announced by coach Sébastien Desabre has drawn attention because many of the players whose eligibility Nigeria questioned after last November’s African play-off defeat have again been included.
Players at the centre of Nigeria’s protest
Nigeria’s protest to FIFA following the African play-off in Morocco focused most strongly on three players whose nationality switches were approved only days before the decisive match: Michel-Ange Balikwisha, Mario Stroeykens and Matheu Epolo
Balikwisha and Stroeykens, both Belgian-born and former Belgium youth internationals, were granted FIFA approval to switch allegiance to DR Congo in the days leading up to the November 16 play-off against Nigeria.
Epolo, a Belgian-born goalkeeper who also represented Belgium at the youth level, had his nationality switch approved within the same period.
Nigeria argued that the Congolese federation had called up the players before FIFA had formally approved their change of association, raising questions about whether proper procedures had been followed.
Of the three players at the centre of the protest, Epolo has been included in the squad for the Guadalajara play-off, while Balikwisha and Stroeykens have not been listed among the selected players.
Several other contested players retained
Beyond the three players highlighted in Nigeria’s complaint, several other footballers whose eligibility was questioned by the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) have also been retained in the squad.
These include: Lionel Mpasi, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, Arthur Masuaku, Samuel Moutoussamy, Noah Sadiki, Ngal’ayel Mukau, Nathanaël Mbuku, and Cédric Bakambu
Most of those players were involved in the controversial African play-off match against Nigeria last November, with Mpasi, Wan-Bissaka, Tuanzebe and Masuaku forming part of the starting defence.
Midfielders Sadiki, Moutoussamy and Mukau also started the match, while Mbuku and Bakambu featured in the attacking line.
Substitute appearances were made by Edo Kayembe, Michel-Ange Balikwisha and Fiston Mayele, with Balikwisha scoring one of the penalties in the shoot-out that ultimately eliminated Nigeria.
Legal basis of Nigeria’s complaint
Nigeria’s petition to FIFA was based on two principal arguments.
The first concerned the timing of FIFA approval for nationality switches.
According to the NFF, the Congolese federation called up several dual-nationality players around November 1, 2025, but FIFA only approved their change of association between November 11 and 12, just days before the match on November 16.
Nigeria argued that this raised questions about how the players could have been selected before their eligibility was officially confirmed.
The second argument related to DR Congo’s constitutional position on dual nationality.
The NFF contended that because the Congolese constitution does not formally recognise dual citizenship, players who still held European passports might not have been eligible to represent the country unless they had renounced their other nationalities.
Historic opportunity in Guadalajara
Despite the controversy, DR Congo now stands within touching distance of its first World Cup appearance since 1974, when the country competed under the name Zaire.
Desabre’s squad blends experienced European-based players with emerging talent as the Leopards attempt to secure a historic return to the global stage.
In defence, Wan-Bissaka and Masuaku are expected to provide width, while Chancel Mbemba and Tuanzebe offer experience and physical presence at the heart of the backline.
Midfielders Sadiki and Moutoussamy will be tasked with controlling the tempo, supported by attacking outlets such as Grady Diangana and Edo Kayembe.
Up front, DR Congo will rely on the firepower of Bakambu, Fiston Mayele, Simon Banza and Yoane Wissa.
If the Leopards prevail in Guadalajara, they will become the tenth African nation to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, joining Morocco, Tunisia, Egypt, Algeria, Ghana, Cape Verde, South Africa, Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal.
Yet as they prepare for the decisive match, the presence of several players named in Nigeria’s protest ensures that the controversy surrounding last November’s play-off remains part of the broader narrative of DR Congo’s quest for a place at football’s biggest tournament.
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U.S. President Donald Trump said on Thursday the Iranian men’s national soccer team was welcome to participate in the 2026 World Cup but that he believed it was not appropriate that they be there “for their own life and safety.”
“The Iran National Soccer Team is welcome to the World Cup, but I really don’t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.
Iran’s sports minister said on Wednesday, opens new tab that it was not possible for his nation’s athletes to participate after the U.S. launched airstrikes alongside Israel against Tehran. The attacks triggered a region-wide conflict that has shown no signs of abating.
The 48-team World Cup will be held in the U.S., Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19, with Iran scheduled for matches in Los Angeles and Seattle.
An official withdrawal by Iran from the showpiece event, which has not yet happened, would be a first in the modern era and would leave soccer’s global governing body FIFA with the urgent task of finding a replacement team.
Iran was the only nation missing from a FIFA planning summit for World Cup participants held last week in Atlanta.
FIFA did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Late last year it awarded Trump — who has campaigned aggressively for the Nobel Peace Prize — its own inaugural peace prize .
Earlier this week, Australia granted humanitarian visas to five Iranian women soccer players after they sought asylum, fearing persecution on their return home for their refusal to sing the national anthem at an Asia Cup match.
Trump had urged Australia’s Prime Minister Anthony Albanese to grant asylum to members of the Iranian women’s team, saying the U.S. would if Australia did not.
-Reuters
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Democratic Republic of Congo striker Yoane Wissa has returned to the squad for their World Cup playoff this month after missing the Africa Cup of Nations finals at the turn of the year.
The Newcastle United forward suffered a knee injury playing for his country against Senegal in a World Cup qualifier in early September, only returning to action in December, and was not chosen for the Cup of Nations in December and January.
The Congolese were eliminated in the round of 16 at the tournament in Morocco.
They now have a chance to become the 10th African country at the World Cup in Canada, Mexico and the U.S. starting in June.
They are competing in the inter-confederation playoff in Guadalajara, Mexico on March 31 against either Jamaica or New Caledonia, who meet five days earlier.
The winners of the March 31 game qualify for the World Cup and will be in Group K with Colombia, Portugal and Uzbekistan.
DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre named 26 players for the playoff with defender Dylan Batubinsika of Greek side AEL and Watford right back Jeremy Ngakia returning.
Elche’s former England under-21 midfielder Grady Diangana, who missed the Cup of Nations finals, is also included.
Reuters
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